


The Odyssey's Journey: Broken Hearts

by Wishmaker1028



Series: Heart Series [13]
Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, add more characters later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-12 16:02:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19232416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishmaker1028/pseuds/Wishmaker1028
Summary: My name is Mario Manfredi and this is my story. 10 years ago, that event changed history... 10 years ago, the Void was threatening all... 10 years ago, I had learned that I was an awful brother. 10 years ago, I had lost... And now... I was about to lose again... (AU of the Heart Series & Odyssey. Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!)





	1. Chapter 1

The bells rung out and Mario Gregory Manfredi Junior closed his eyes tightly. The next thing he knew, when he opened his eyes, he found himself in Flipside. With him were Violet Jasmine Calico (Luigi's girlfriend and Mario's best friend), Princess Peach Blossom Toadstool (Mario's girlfriend and Luigi's best friend), King Bowser (no introduction needed there), and Luigi James Manfredi (Mario's twin brother). Also with them were a fallen Nastasia, O'Chunks, and Mimi. Merlon was also there, looking up at the sky.

"It seems that the Void has finally left the sky..." He commented, mostly to himself.

"All thanks to the count..." Mimi muttered. "Golly, I'm gonna miss him..."

"I'm gonna miss him too, lass. He was the count, after 'll." O'Chunks stated. Mimi nodded sadly and before she was about to come over to Luigi, she had noticed that Nastasia was back on her feet. O'Chunks commented, "Great leapin' bog monkeys! Nastasia, she draws breath once again lads! Nastasia! 'EY! Nastasia! Miracle o' miracles! GRA-GOOGLY-HEY-HOORAH!"

"I... um... am alive?" She stammered.

Peach started to say, "Thanks to Tippi, er, Timpani... And now she's in the Overthere with her love..."

"Mario!" Violet cried out, scared out of her mind.

Peach turned around, seeing that Luigi had changed back to Mr. L. Even though his clothes were tattered and scars all over his body - he surprisingly had enough strength to pin Mario to the wall. Bowser saw this and, while part of him wanted Mr. L to take Mario out, the other part wanted the honor all to himself.

"Hey, back off loser!" Bowser huffed, about to huff a fireball straight at them.

Mario held up his hand, making Bowser stop. Bowser looked at him, a bit surprised. Mario didn't want to be saved? Mario then turned to Mr. L, his eyes filled with tears.

"Luigi... please... come back to me..." Mario pleaded.

 **"He can't hear you, sir-jumps-a-lot! I will be the one to avenge the count!"** Mr. L promised, the obvious tears in his eyes.

"Then you should know that it isn't his fault the count is gone!" Mimi pointed out.

"Aye, she's right lad. It was that rotten Dimentio!" O'Chunks agreed.

Mr. L turned to them, the tears in his eyes. The other minions could tell that he pledged allegance to the count more than he did to the jester. Mr. L dropped Mario to the ground and the man in red quickly gathered his air. Mr. L returned back to Luigi, whom immediately dropped to the ground, in an exhausted huff.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted out, worried.

...

The Toads quickly went to work to patching up the heroes, even Bowser and the minions of Count Bleck. Mario felt instantly guilty seeing his baby brother hooked up to all those machines... How... how could have this had happened? Peach, Violet, and Bowser all came in to see Luigi. Bowser knew that the truce was over but even he was worried about Green Stache.

The minute Violet walked in, Mario's protective instinct kicked in as he realized something. She knew. She figured it out before he did. He walked over to her and grabbed her shirt, violently.

"Mario!" Peach protested.

"What are you doing?!" Bowser questioned.

"Yeah, let me go!" Violet demanded.

"Why?! Why didn't you tell me that he was Mr. L?!" Mario huffed.

The silence that followed was terrible. Violet couldn't answer that. She knew that she had to tell Mario but she thought it wouldn't be important.

"Malleo..." Came Luigi's broken voice from the hospital bed. "L - let her go..."

Mario did as he asked. Violet adjusted her shirt and Mario turned to Luigi. He was broken, there was nothing in his eyes anymore. There was no sparkle of hope, there was... nothing. He would be fine, physically, but as mentally...

"When did you wake up?" Mario asked softly.

"Just now..." Luigi admitted, somewhat truthfully.

Mario said nothing to that. "Mr. L attacked me after Blumiere and Timpani risked their lives for us. I have every right to get some kind of answers."

Luigi instantly paled. He did that...? He, sadly, remembered what Dimentio had done to them. That was the one problem with sharing a mind with Mr. L, he had his memories. So he knew how Nastasia got him to emerge. He remembered everything. It tormented him to know that he caused that much pain to the ones he loved...

...

The nurse had chased everyone out that afternoon, so that they could change the linens in the room. When the group had returned (Bowser had gone back home to make Bowser Jr. lunch), Luigi was gone. Violet saw that empty bed and instantly turned her head away from Mario. She tearfully walked away from the man in red. Peach saw this and went after her. It left Mario alone for the first time in awhile.

On that day, Mario was never the same again.

...

Over the years, Violet had become a powerful and successful protector to Peach. Peach had become more of a powerful ruler, no longer needing Mario to protect her. She barely needed Violet but Violet hardly left her side. Mario and Peach's relationship was a bit strained. But it was still strong. Bowser still tried every antic to get Peach back but to no avail.

That was until one summer day, where Bowser had successfully captured Peach. While it wasn't an easy fight, Mario and Violet had gone out for the first time in 10 long years to go after Peach. Mario had shaved down his mustache a bit, was still wearing his signature hat, a red long sleeved hoodie with a golden mushroom on the right shoulder, light blue jeans, and red sneakers.

Violet still had her shoulder length hair, wearing a blue snowflake necklace, a regal purple dress shirt with a golden mushroom on the right shoulder, black regal caprice, and white sneakers. Peach had curly blonde hair, forced to changing into the exact dress from 10 years ago. Holding back the tears in her eyes, the tiara on her head suddenly revealed to be alive.

Before she could ask a question, she saw that Mario and Violet had boarded the flying ship. Her hands were bonded by a piranha plant.

"Violet! Mario!" She cried out, joyously.

"Ah, welcome to my airship." Bowser stated cockily.

Violet was the first to notice Peach's wedding dress. She wrinkled her nose in disapproval. "Really Bowser? You bringing up old wounds? That's low even for you."

"Let her go, Bowser!" Mario demanded.

"Not today, Mario!" Bowser told him, throwing his hat at Mario and Violet.

Both of them ducked but the hat managed to knock off Mario's signature hat. Just as Mario was about to take on Bowser, the hat made a boomerang back to the airship, knocking Mario off the side and his hat into the propeller.

"MARIO!" The two girls cried out, in worry.

The airship took off, with Bowser now focusing on the girl in violet...

What they didn't notice was a Bonneton had got a piece of his signature hat...

...

_Wishmaker1028: Well there we have it! Hope you all enjoy the start of this story! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	2. Chapter 2

Mario slowly opened his eyes, seeing that the area around him was dark. He quickly got to his feet, trying not to hyperventilate. _'No... my games couldn't have ended...'_ He thought, worried. He kept looking around, the memories slipping back to him. His hyperventilation started to increase.

_"Oh? The weakling brother is who I'm supposed to be scared of? Everyone knows what you think of your own DNA. Think about it, red cap. The minute you get the opportunity to go on vacation with the princess and her royal advisor, what was the first thing you do? You started packing! You didn't - not even once - ask your own younger twin brother if he wished to join you. Nope, the only thing you did was asked him to get the luggage from the attic since you were too busy talking about the trip of a lifetime. Talk about insult to injury."_

Mario screamed at the top of his lungs, the tears streaming down his face. Why was this coming back to him? Why now? Mario was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that a Bonneton had came up to him. Mario slowly came out of it, seeing that he was holding a piece of his hat. Seeing his hat tattered like that gave him chills.

"W - who are you?" Mario finally managed to ask.

"My name is Cappy... And I fear that our paths have crossed unfavorably." Cappy told him. Mario raised an eyebrow to that. The Bonneton explained, "You see, my baby sister - Tiara - has been taken by that monster you called Bowser."

Mario's eyes widen with horror, just as soon as he realized. "Oh no! Violet was still aboard that ship! We have to save them!"

Cappy turned himself into Mario's hat without question. "I guess I didn't need to convince you, like I was afraid I was."

Mario softly chuckled, "No one has ever needed to convince me to helping them."

...

Meanwhile, Violet had been thrown down in the dungeons of the airship. She had put up a decent fight but it wasn't enough to defeat Bowser. She devised another plan. She quickly used her Aurora Nine to freeze the Piranha Plant, causing it to recede from her hands. She then quickly picked the lock to her cell, allowing the cell door to open. She went up to Peach and Tiara's cell, seeing that she had caught the attention of the blonde.

"Nice work Violet!" Peach gushed.

"Heh, what can I say? I'm just that good." Violet slightly teased.

The girl in violet froze the cell door, getting the princess and Tiara out of their cell. The princess walked out of the cell.

Tiara started to say, "Let's get out of here before..."

That's when they saw that they had attracted the attention of the guards.

"AH! They are escaping!" One of them yelped.

"Then capture them!" The second one ordered.

"Yeah, you think - what's the phrase - come quietly?" Peach taunted.

"No one said that we were going to do that!" Violet added.

"Let's fight!" Tiara told them.

The girls started to fight the guards, easily escaping the dungeons. One of them quickly altered Bowser, whom growled with frustration. An elder Bowser Jr. approached his dad. He was the spitting image to Bowser, only he had a lighter mane and was slightly less chubbier.

"Dad... don't you think enough is enough? It's time to move on." The koopaling stated softly.

Bowser eyed him and huffed, "When did you get so soft? We're supposed to be the BAD guys, Junior. Not changed around doofuses that want to help find a man that was never a threat!"

Junior grumbled. It was true that he was rather interested in finding Luigi. He was curious as to what happened 10 years ago. His father had never talked about it. He did a lot of research in the Koopa library over the years but never found a straight answer. Bowser would just plain out refuse to tell his son what happened. Junior didn't know if it was because of pride... or something else.

"Dad... you can end this thing right now and just tell me... what happened?" Junior begged.

Bowser ignored his son's request again, turning to Kammy. "Have all of the troops find them and bring them to me now!" He boomed.

Kammy flinched. He knew that there was no way to talk Bowser out of a mood. Junior walked away from his father, for the first time in 10 years.

...

Mario and Cappy, in the meantime, had found what Cappy was looking for. It was a ship, that looked like a top hat. Cappy called it _'The Odyssey'_. Cappy tried turning it on but it was of no use, the ship wouldn't move.

"I think it is out of power..." He sadly told Mario.

Mario frowned. Now what were they supposed to do? Suddenly, a large and obese woman rabbit with a chain chomp as a pet came out of nowhere (or at least it seemed that way to Mario). She started to attack them. Mario quickly powered up his Firebrand, trying his hardest to flame the chain chomp. When that didn't work, Mario was almost flattened by it until he a clang. Mario turned and saw a man with a sword standing on his left. He was facing away from Mario but Mario could tell that this man was human.

"You again!? Why do you keep showing up at the worst possible times?!" The woman rabbit (Mother Broodal) demanded the newcomer.

The newcomer turned to her, smirking up a storm. He was about Mario's age, a bit taller than Mario, had really short brown hair, a grown out beard, stunning blue eyes, and had a well worked out body. He had a metal right arm and a sword in his left hand. He was wearing a torn gray short sleeved shirt, black jeans that cut off at the knee, and black sneakers.

"Oh come now, I wouldn't say I do that all of the time." The man debated, crossing his arms in front of his chest smugly.

"You do! And don't think I won't tell Bowser that I seen you." Mother Broodal threatened.

The man chuckled heartily, totally unafraid. Mother Broodal got a bit upset as Mario was a bit confused.

"You aren't afraid of him?" Mario asked the man, a bit surprised.

The man looked at him, a bit incredulously. Mario didn't know what to make of that odd feeling he was having.

"Why would I be? Bowser is almost on his way out thanks to you, Mario." The man answered.

Mario instantly got suspicious. He didn't know this person. But it was clear that this person knew him.

Cappy got defensive and demanded, "Who are you?! What is your name!?"

The man looked at Mario, then Cappy, and then Mario again. He used the moment of silence to attack Mother Broodal with his sword, taking care of her. He turned to the stunned duo, surprised by his strength and speed. They didn't even notice what had happened. Finally he answered after a moment of silence.

"Call me Aaron." He told them.

...

_Wishmaker1028: And there we have it! An extra long chapter for you guys! Hope you all enjoy! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box._


	3. Chapter 3

Mario walked over to the Odyssey with Cappy and Aaron right behind. The minute the strange man saw the Odyssey, he muttered a curse word under his breath.

"My Grambi... the Odyssey does exist..." He breathed.

"How do you know about it?" Mario asked.

Aaron rolled his eyes, "Because, unlike you, I wasn't stuck in the castle forever. I've been doing some research."

Mario felt offended. "I haven't been stuck in the castle forever..."

Cappy got in between them, turning to Aaron. "We need the Odyssey to catch up with Bowser. He is probably going to try and get a few items to force Peach to marry him."

"Like the ring?" Aaron questioned.

Cappy perked up. "You know about that?"

"I have been traveling from kingdom to kingdom for a long time. I know a lot about those items." Aaron admitted.

"Then you should come with us!" Cappy insisted.

"Who made _you_ our leader...?" Mario muttered.

Aaron gave Mario a look. "Look, you are going to hate me saying this but you need my help in finding these items. The faster we find them, the faster we can catch up to Bowser. The only request I have is: we stop at New Donk City for the opening for Balloon World tomorrow night."

Mario got mad and huffed, "I don't exactly want to see the Gadd's anytime soon."

"Oh yeah, especially after you never showed up for Elvin's funeral." Aaron hissed, a few tears rolling down his face.

Cappy quickly broke them up again. "Alright, that is enough!"

Aaron stopped, though the tears were still rolling down his face. Mario stopped as well, stunned to the fact that this man knew a lot. He didn't exactly trust him though. The mysterious man wiped his eyes.

"You should be ashamed of yourself not coming to his funeral!" Aaron hissed.

"I had other things on my plate!" Mario defended weakly.

"Yeah like eating some of your favorite dessert: Peach's strawberry cheesecake!" Aaron cried out.

Mario took a step back. It was true that over the years he had gained weight and was chubbier than usual. But this man knew his favorite dessert. He never told that to anyone except... Mario took another step back. _No._ It couldn't be... Could it? Before Mario could pursue that thought, Cappy broke them up again.

"That's enough! Seriously you two are starting to get on my nerves!" Cappy commented. He then looked up at the sky, seeing the sun was setting. "It is getting late. We do need power moons to move the Odyssey though."

"Power Moons?" Mario asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And yet you call yourself the hero?" Aaron hissed. Mario made a fist as Aaron turned to Cappy. He commented, "I will start getting the power moons. You and Mario start a campfire. We will leave first thing."

Cappy nodded as Aaron headed out. Mario was furious at his attitude.

"Don't rush..." He snarled.

...

Meanwhile, the girls had managed to leave the airship. They were using Violet's Aurora Nine and Peach's star power to get out of the area. Tiara was hanging on to Peach tightly as the girls landed down in the lush jungle.

Peach got to her feet and swiped away the branches. "I am glad we managed to get away but how are we going to get back? We can't use that trick forever."

Violet admitted, "Yeah that did wear us down, didn't it?"

Tiara told them, "We could look for the Odyssey."

Peach raised an eyebrow, "The Odyssey?"

Tiara explained, "It was an old story my brother told me. It is a ship that can cross the kingdoms in less time than a plane!"

Violet stated, "Sounds like we should look for it."

Peach pointed out, "That would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Before Tiara could say anything, they all heard an evil cackle. The three girls turned and saw Kammy coming their way with Junior in tow.

"Oh crap..." Tiara groaned.

...

Back with the boys, Aaron had returned with at least 20 power moons. Mario had set up a campfire. Cappy had retired in the Odyssey. Aaron placed down the bag and joined Mario. The man in red had remained oddly quiet, studying Aaron.

"You are awful quiet." Aaron admitted.

"Just a lot on my mind." Mario replied honestly. There was an odd silence that fell between them and he asked, "So... what happened to your arm?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Of all questions, you ask that one?"

"I'm just curious is all." Mario reassured.

There was another moment of silence when Aaron finally decided to break it.

Aaron sighed sadly, "I lost it in a bad accident. I was out training when all of the sudden, someone attacked me from behind and hit me hard. I have needed a replacement ever since."

"I had no idea." Mario admitted softly.

"You didn't ask." Aaron pointed out sarcastically.

Mario couldn't help a small chuckle to that. Aaron joined him. The two talked mostly all night long, gazing up at the stars as they did.

"So why are you going to Balloon World premiere anyways? It's that just a private affair held by the Gadd's?" Mario asked.

Aaron showed Mario a golden pass. "I'm a security guard for Miss Dawn. She has become like a daughter to me. Her father, Andrew, has never been to interested in Elvin's work."

Mario frowned upon hearing that. "I had no idea it was that serious."

"Oh yeah, he hardly allows her near Elvin's old lab." Aaron further added.

Mario couldn't believe his ears. "Really? Wow, I have missed a lot."

"That is why you need to get out of the castle more often." Aaron responded.

Mario glared and asked, a bit teasingly, "Thought we were good?"

Aaron teased, "We were never good."

To that, the two of them laughed again. Cappy watched them, glad that they were starting to get along better.

...

_Wishmaker1028: Sorry the delay but here you guys are. Can't wait for Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled on Friday! Hype is real for that game! Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	4. Chapter 4

The very next morning, Mario was awaken to the engines of the Odyssey turning on. He stretched and saw that Aaron was over by Cappy.

"The Odyssey! It is fully powered now!" Cappy gushed.

"Just doing my job." Aaron slightly teased.

Mario walked over to them and reminded them, "Come on, we better get moving if we want to make New Donk City by nightfall."

Aaron and Cappy both nodded in agreement. The three of them boarded the Odyssey and headed for the Sand Kingdom, where they started to look for the ring. They arrived after a few minutes. Mario was the first one that got off of the ship first. Aaron and Cappy were in tow. That's when they noticed that it was colder than usual.

"Huh... that's odd... Deserts are usually blistering hot!" Cappy commented.

"There is ice everywhere..." Aaron stated.

"I wonder if Violet is here..." Mario wondered, hoping that she was alright. He turned to the others and added, "Let's a-go!"

With that, Mario headed out first as Cappy rode on his head. Aaron walked right next to Mario, earning himself a wave or two from the locals. The locals were a bit surprised that Aaron was with a stranger but they were even more surprised to see that it was the man in red.

"Ah! Mario himself is here!" One of the locals commented.

Mario smiled at them, feeling a tad smug. That was until one of the locals butted in with a different comment.

"Aaron is probably the one keeping him out of trouble." The local stated.

Mario's face fell as Aaron started to chuckle. Mario shot him a look.

"Seriously?" He mumbled.

"Well, you do seem to be a troublemaker." Aaron replied, chuckling.

Mario groaned. He wouldn't admit it but this was a lot of fun. Aaron reminded him a lot of... Mario quickly shook his head out of those thoughts. But his mind kept slipping down that path.

...

-Flashback-

**Mario's POV**

_It was a rather peaceful day in the house I shared with my baby brother. Luigi was in the front, trimming the hedges while I was in the back, trimming the lawn. That's when the mailman came. I came over to Luigi and saw some hurt in his eyes. What was going on? Why was he looking so hurt? He held the mail in his hands, looking like a little kid about ready to cry. I hated when Luigi was so emotional like this. He needed to be more like me. He needed to be less like a coward and be brave._

_I asked, "Anything for me?"_

_He finally noticed me and answered, "No, there's something here for me, though."_

_I stated, "Then open it, Weegie."_

_He was rather slow in opening it, like he was really hurt about something. I rolled my eyes as he took out a letter and then his sadness turned to utter surprise._

_He told me, "Listen to this, Malleo! I won a mansion!"_

_That got my attention._

_I questioned, "Wait, what?"_

_I snatched the letter out of his hands and read it said:_

_'Dear Mr. Luigi Manfredi,_

_Congratulations! You were our winner in the recent contest - "Younger Brothers of Major Heroes". You have won an all expense paid mansion and enclosed is a map to get you to your new home! You may bring with you two people of your choice to see this mansion and come to claim it on November 18, 2001. We hope to see you soon!_

_Sincerely,_

_K.B., CEO of Scare to Care'_

_I looked up again and saw that Luigi was beyond happy._

_He commented, "You know what this means, Malleo? I can have a house of my own and do what I want and please!"_

_I couldn't stop this bad feeling I had. Something was telling me that something was wrong. I decided not to let Luigi know, he seemed too excited. I took a look at the map and made a quick copy of it inside of the house. I gave Luigi the original copy._

_I stated, "Listen, I want to be one of the ones to go. I got to make sure that my baby brother doesn't get a big fat head."_

_"Malleo," he groaned, making me chuckle._

_I replied, "Relax, you can ask Princess Daisy to come with you if you want."_

_He frowned at that and I couldn't help but wonder why. Didn't he like Daisy? But just then, his frown turned into a smile._

_Luigi responded, "I have someone else in mind..."_

_After saying a quick goodbye, I headed to the place where this mansion was. Little did I know..._

-End of Flashback-

"...Mario?"

"..."

"Mario?!"

"..."

"MARIO!"

Mario slowly snapped out of it, seeing that Aaron had a worried look on his face. Oh did that ever give Mario the worst deja vue. Cappy looked completely confused until he saw that Mario was crying hard.

"Mario...? Are you okay?" Cappy asked him.

That's when Mario rushed to Aaron, hugging him tightly. Cappy was a bit startled but none more so than Aaron. Mario was crying so hard that it made him hard to understand. But there was one name that made it clear:

"Weegie..."

Cappy raised a brow. Who was that? That's when Aaron dropped his usual calm demor and hugged Mario right back. He started to cry as well. Cappy was really confused until he heard Aaron say:

"Malleo... my fratello..." Cappy's eyes widen in surprise as Mario broke out of the hug with _'Aaron'_. He slightly teased, "Took you long enough..."

"You've really changed a good bit! You had me fooled..." Mario grumbled a bit.

Luigi gave off a good chuckle, "Yeah though I thought when you figured it out that it was me, I thought you be mad at me..."

Mario raised an eyebrow, "Mad at you? I'm mad at myself... That's the second time I didn't recognize you and I feel horrible."

"What gave me away?" Luigi asked, a bit curious.

"Well, to be fair, it just clicked just now." Mario admitted sheepishly.

Luigi facepalmed and grumbled, "And yet you are gonna be king soon..."

"Not if we don't stop Bowser from marrying Peach." Mario reminded him. He turned to his baby brother and added, "You are the one that spent a lot of time out here. Will you still help me?"

"Does Peach always wear pink?" Luigi answered, a bit teasingly.

Mario's eyes started to water again as he hugged his baby brother, this time, more tighter than before.

...

Back with the girls, they were fighting against Kammy and the forces of Bowser. They were putting up a good fight until one of the Goombas grabbed Tiara up.

"Help!" She wailed.

"Tiara!" Peach gasped.

"Let her go!" Violet demanded.

"Not until you come back with us!" The Goomba told them.

"They said let her go!" Junior huffed, hitting him with a flame.

Kammy was surprised. "Junior?! What are you doing!?"

"What I should've done a long time ago..." He admitted softly. He turned to the girls, "I'll hold them off. You guys get out of here."

Peach shook her head, "No. I'm not leaving you again, Junior. You've always did this every time for me... Allow us to help you."

Junior looked at Violet and Tiara, whom both nodded in agreement. Junior eventually nodded as the team dealt with Kammy quickly.

"That was close..." Tiara admitted.

"Mama Peach to the rescue." Violet teased.

Peach gave her a look. She turned to Junior and petted the bridge of his nose. Junior smiled.

"Let us go home." Peach told him.

...

_Wishmaker1028: There we go! Chapter 4 is done! Glad I got this done now so I wouldn't have to burn the midnight oil again. (But that was worth it.) Please read and review! And always think outside of the box!_


	5. Chapter 5

The girls were still walking through the forest, with Junior in tow. While they weren't looking for the Odyssey, they were looking for a quicker way to get a message to Mario to let him know that they were alright. Junior was nervous though. He had betrayed his father (and actually left this time). So he didn't know how this was going to go down. Not to mention Mario's reaction...

"Junior?"

The young ruler of the Darklands looked up, seeing that it was Peach addressing him. He looked at her with a sad face. Peach frowned, turning to Violet and Tiara, who were starting to get ahead a bit.

"I'll catch up with you." She promised.

"Alright." Violet replied, walking further ahead.

Once the two were out of earshot, Peach turned back to Junior. He had sit down on the ground. Peach knelt down to his eye level, sitting with him.

"Worried about your Dad, huh?" She asked him softly. To this, Junior merely nodded. Peach rubbed the bridge of his nose and whispered, "Don't worry, we will make sure nothing bad happens to you."

Junior sniffled a bit, "T - thanks Peach but I'm worried about Mario's reaction too..."

Peach frowned. "Why are you worried about that his opinion?"

Junior sighed, "You have always been a mother figure to me... And the first time we met and further hasn't been the best... I'm just worried that Mario would hold that against me."

"He won't, I told him and Violet what happened every time I got kidnapped. I told them everything." Peach confessed.

Junior looked sad still. He sniffled. Peach held him close as she remembered what she told Mario long ago:

_"Well, when I was a baby, there was a war between the Toads and the Koopas. At the current time, Bowser was a prince and his parents were fair rulers of the land. However, the Koopa Kingdom was in a lot of debt. So, they reached to their neighbors surrounding them. They asked and asked but all of the kingdoms said no._

_"Mostly because the Koopas couldn't be trusted with funds. My parents were kind enough to help them but it quickly came at a price. We would open trades with them and pay off their debts, so long as Bowser married nobility. At the time, my mom was pregnant with me. So my dad promised me to Bowser even before I was born._

_"However, by the time I was born, my engagement was broken thankfully. Bowser didn't feel like waiting for a human spouse, since Koopa and humans have different time clocks. So he, instead, married a Koopa named Bonita. Course it cause mayhem when Bowser's parents declined him the throne and my parents backed out of the deal._

_"They had found put what the neighboring kingdoms already knew. That if there was any merger with Koopa Kingdom, the kingdom that was willing enough to be nice would fall faster than a tree that is needed for firewood. They were pure evil, no doubt about it. And with their trade being mostly drugs - and those are like deadly poison to the Toads..._

_"Yeah, my parents were glad to back out of that deal. Unfortunately, it didn't help with the disaster that soon came. Bowser not only killed his parents, declaring himself and Bonita the new king and queen - but as a revenge - he killed mine. Toadsworth and I were out that day but I remember him telling me how horrid it was when he found them dead._

_"The war lasted until my 3rd birthday. That's when Toad soldiers managed to capture the castle. Inside was Bonita...and a baby boy. They said that they left the boy alone, thinking that the boy might bring peace. Which is possible, Bowser Jr. is a good kid considering his start with the Isle Definio incident._

_"Bonita was protective of Bowser Jr. until the very end. Her death brought us peace. I do feel bad for what happened but there was nothing I could have done. And the rest is history. Bowser just kidnaps me so Bowser Jr. could have some mother time or he wants to save his kingdom. Or sometimes both."_

Peach looked at Junior, petting his mane. He started to calm down a bit. He was still worried though and Peach didn't blame him. Peach kept petting his mane, being gentle. He kept his eyes on her, remembering all of the times they were together, thanks to his father. He just wished that he wasn't Bowser's son at times. Peach decided to try and cheer him up.

She stated, "Junior... you have to realize that I don't care what Mario thinks, right? I want you to be happy and safe. And he doesn't realize that, then it isn't my problem."

Junior perked up. She had spoken a bit venomously at that point. He looked at her.

"Peach... are you alright?" He asked her softly.

She smiled softly. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to scare you. I guess Mario being a total jerk to Luigi is still making me upset."

"I see..." He mumbled, still upset himself.

She rubbed his mane again, getting his attention. "I got you, Junior. Don't worry about Mario, okay?"

He sniffled once more. "O - okay... I'll try..."

She smiled again. While he wasn't feeling one hundred percent, she knew that, but at least he was smiling at a bit. She got to his feet, offering her hand to him. Junior took her hand, getting to his feet. The two started to walk out of the jungle, trying to catch up with Violet and Tiara.

Peach finally spoke again after a bit. "Guess you have a lot questions about what happened all of those years ago." Junior nodded quietly. She raised an eyebrow as she questioned, "Your father never told you?"

Junior admitted softly, "Yeah..."

"That's so strange... I thought your father would have told you something..." Peach murmured. When Junior shook his head sadly, Peach sighed. She had to admit, that wasn't Bowser's best decision. She groaned, "Why didn't he tell you...?"

"Peach... what happened?" Junior asked her softly.

Peach took a long pause. She knew that she would have to tell him eventually. He waited long enough. She turned away from him and started to say:

"Well... it started with about of the lost book of prophecies. This prophetic book was a mysterious tome of stories of future events. Of course, many people craved this book, wishing to glimpse their futures. But no person, after obtaining this amazing book, ever found happiness. The reason? The book held frightful secrets not meant for people's eyes. That book came to be called the Dark Prognosticus and was sealed away. This...is the tale of that forgotten book's last owner. It is a tale of love..."

...

_Wishmaker1028: Sorry for the delay! I got really into Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled since it dropped yesterday. It has been completely beautiful and amazing. Hoping to do more live streaming later on. So make sure that you guys subscribe to me - Kids Network Studios - and enjoy the fun! Until the next chapter, please read and review! And always think outside of the box!  
_


End file.
